Terton Nyida Sangye
Guru Padmasambhava started the Nyingma Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, or “the ancients,” and he brought the religion to Tibet from India. The Nyingma teachings consist of what he presented, kama, supplemented by termas, or treasure texts which were taught by enlightened masters throughout the centuries.
The second reincarnation line of Simdha Monastery began with the Treasure Revealer Nyida Sangye, an emanation of the practitioner Dharmata, one of the 16 arhats from the time of the Buddha.
The Phowa "Jaktshukma" (the standing grass blade) Linage is one of the precious phowa practices. In the eighth century, the Dharma king of Tibet, Thri-song Deu-Tsen invited the great Indian tantric master,Guru Padmasambhava, to Tibet and they built the Samye monastery. Guru Padmasambhava was residing in Ch'im-phu cave in the vicinity of Samye when an important minister of the king, Nyima, had a tragedy. Nyima, who had two palaces and was in the process of moving from one to the other, was packing some belongings by the light of a lantern when a small spark caused a fire which instantly burned down the whole palace tragically killing thirteen people including his parents. All his horses, mules, cattle and other animals also perished in the fire. Minister Nyima, thinking of the love and respect that others show their parents felt that he had committed the heaviest of sins by causing the death of his parents and others.
The king desiring to end the suffering of his minister went to Ch'im-phu cave to request the help of Padmasambhava. The King Trisong Detsen offered him a golden disk (representing the sun) and a silver disk (representing the moon) as a mandala offering, requesting him to give special instruction to the Minister so that he could become enlightened before death. Padamasambhava by miraculous power went to the Pure Land to see Amitabha Buddha. He told Buddha Amitabha about the suffering of Minister Nyima and of all sentient beings and asked Amitabha to give a special teaching to free them from suffering. Buddha Amitabha gave this Phowa teaching to Padmasambhava who gave it to Minister Nyima who then gave up all worldly activities to practice the Phowa which he eventually actualized. Through the path of Phowa, Minister Nyima's consciousness attained the Pure Land when death came and many different signs appeared like rainbows and relics from his body.
This text was hidden in the Black Mandala Lake which is at the backside of Dhaglhagampo Hill. The Naga king, Tsurana-Ratna, asked to be the guardian of this text and was told by Padmasambhava that then future incarnation of Minister Nyima would be Nyida Sang-gye and that he must give the text to him.
Padmasambhava then left to go to the land of the Rakshas. After more than 350 years the incarnation of Minister Nyima was born as the son of a shepherd. When Nyida Sang-gye was growing up he felt great compassion and wept tears of sorrow when the animals would die.
In order to alleviate his great suffering, Buddha Amitabha appeared to him and gave him this Phowa teaching for the benefit of all sentient beings. Nyida Sang-gye then gave Phowa to all the dying animals and often many different signs appeared.
The Naga-king then came to Nyida Sang-gye and told him of the Hidden Text (Ter-ma) and Nyida Sang-gye took the Ter from the Black Mandala Lake and gave the teaching to the Sagas. Through this teaching many of the Nagas were reborn into a higher life.
After this Nyida Sang-gye gave many teachings to human beings through which many reached liberation.
As predicted, that Minister was reborn as a treasure-revealer who attained the siddhi of immortality, living for over 600 years. He was born in Dakpo. He revealed the Planted Grass-Blade Ejection from Black Mandala Lake. He gave them to the naga king Tsukna Rinchen and his retinue. It is said that as a result all of the beings living in the lake were liberated.
This terton appeared to judgmental people to be as aimless at the wind, but in reality he went to the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain, met Guru Rinpoche, and received extraordinary instructions on ejection from him. These instructions are known as the Whispered Lineage of Ejection; there is an essay of instruction on them by the vidyadhara Terdak Lingpa.
Nyida Sangye also revealed a self-arisen image of the eleven-faced Avalokita from the Turquoise Lake in Tsari. It is said that it is kept in Nyal nowadays.
It is also said that Terton Nyida Sangye lived, helping beings for hundreds of years long. Karma Lingpa was Nyida Sangye's son, and he helped Karma Lingpa reveal his termas. After him, the lineage was passed along to his spiritual heir and son, the treasure-revealer Karma Lingpa. In turn, Karma Lingpa transmitted it to the emanation of Nyida Sangye, his heart-sun Nyiday Choeje. This transmission has been passed on to this very day, in the line of Getok Tulkus.
Nyida Sangye's ejection instructions are both extremely profound and very widespread; they appear to have done beings immeasurable good.
BIBLOGRAPHY : "THE HUNDRED TERTONS" BY JAMGON KONGTRUL LODRO TAYE translated by Yeshe Gyamtso